Along Came Xander
by Quryuu
Summary: After graduation Xander is sent away from Sunnydale. On he way he has a little job that involves his family. His real family.


New Supernatural/Buffy

Xander winced slightly as he tried to knot his tie properly over his dress shirt. The bruises Tony had given him as a graduation/going away present overtop of all the injuries he sustained from the actual battle during graduation left him sore and stiff. Thankfully his stepfather had left for the bar and had yet to return. Maybe if he was lucky the bastard will get eaten, but he doubted it.

A tired sigh left him as he looked over his form in the mirror. Larry's was the last funeral for those that had died during the battle. The battle he had planned and led. The battle to survive the Mayor's ascension into a pure demon and subsequent plan to turn their class into a buffet. Even with the back up plans and the strength in numbers with the students fighting back, they had lost a good amount of people. Some had completely disappeared, though he wouldn't be surprised if they showed up later as members of the undead.

Realistically he knew it could have gone a heck of a lot worse. Emotionally he blamed himself for every grave dug as a result of the fight. So many 'if onlys' ran through his mind over and over the past week.

It didn't help that he also felt hurt at the lack of presence from his real father and his half brothers. Sure their attendance would have caused problems and might have gotten them hurt, but they hadn't even bothered to call. Then again it had been some time since he heard from them. In fact the last call had been from Sam telling him to call his cell instead of his house phone, at least five months ago. At Christmas Dean had sent him some beer, which he pawned off for information and his father had sent a card and money, while Sam had sent him a book on vampire myths. That had entertained the group for days.

Before, he maybe got a couple of calls every few months. Heck, he hadn't seen any of them since he started high school. Not that he expected more than that. After all he had resulted from a one-night stand neither party expected any consequences from. He supposed he should feel lucky his father and brothers bothered with him at all. His mother sure didn't and he lived with her. Of course given his extracurricular activities these past three years it was probably better that he hadn't seen them. Lying always came easier when on the phone than when face to face.

Shaking his head he got rid of all thoughts about the Harris and the Winchesters. He had a funeral to get to then a road trip to start. He had packed the car earlier with the items he wanted to keep, knowing his 'parents' would scavenge his room for any sellable items to help fund their addictions.

Just as he turned to head out the door of his room a new presence appeared. Shifting into a defensive pose he took in the cheap suit and bowler hat the man wore.

"Hey kid." The thick Bronx accent rolled over him.

"Let me guess… Whistler." Xander frowned.

"Right in one kid."

"As I'm sure you know Buffy is at home with her mom getting ready to go to LA for the summer." He pointed out dispassionately, planning to leave.

"I'm not here for the Slayer. I came to talk to you." The little man held his ground at the fierce glare now directed at him. The others may not consider Harris dangerous but the Balance Demon knew better. He held his hands up. "Look I'm just the messenger kid."

Huffing Xander managed to relax. It wasn't Whistler's fault his bosses sucked. "Ok what's the what?"

"You gotta leave Sunnydale for good kid. Or everything in this dimension will die."

The force of the demon throwing them against the wall had both Dean and Sam grunting in pain. Yellow eyes smirked back at them from within their father's face. Casually he moved to where the gun had fallen on the floor picking it up and examining it.

"What a pain in the ass this thing's been." He murmured almost conversationally.

"It's you isn't it?" Sam growled out. "We've been looking for you for a long time."

The demon smiled at them. "You found me."

"But the holy water…" Sam grimaced, trying to think through the pain.

The demon snorted. "You think something like that works on something like me?"

Glaring heatedly at the thing possessing his father Sam let all of his hate drip into his words. "I'm going to kill you!"

"Oh, that'd be a neat trick. In fact here." He placed the colt on the table close to Sam. "Make the gun float to ya there, psychic boy."

Sam tried, using all his power of concentration but the gun didn't even move. The demon chuckled.

"Well, this is fun. I could've killed you a hundred times today, but this…" He sighed happily. "This is worth the wait." Turning to the other brother he considered him for a moment. "Your dad? He's in here with me. Trapped inside his own meat suit. He say's "hi", by the way. He's going to tear you apart. He's going to taste the iron in your blood."

Dean clenched his teeth angrily. "Let him go. Or I swear to God…"

"What?" The demon cut him off. "What are you and God gonna do? You see as far as I'm concerned, this is justice." Moving closer to the older brother pinned to the wall he lowered his voice some. "You know that little exorcism of yours? That was my daughter."

"Who, Meg?"

The demon ignored him and continued. "The one in the alley? That was my boy. You understand?"

This time Dean snorted. "You gotta be kiddin' me."

"What?" The demon sneered. "You're the only one who can have a family? You destroyed my children. How would you feel if I killed your family?" Dean's glare intensified as the demon paused seeming to consider his words before letting a wicked grin stretch across his features. "Oh, that's right. I forgot. I did. Still, two wrongs don't make a right."

"You son of a bitch."

"I want to know why." Sam called out angrily. "Why did you do it?"

The demon turned to him. "You mean why'd I kill Mommy and pretty little Jess?"

"Yeah."

"You know, I never told you this, but Sam was gonna ask her to marry him." He advised Dean almost absently. "Been shopping for rings and everything." Walking towards Sam he continued his taunting. "You wanna know why? Because they got in my way."

Sam shook his head. "In the way of what?"

"My plans for you Sammy." He stated as if it were obvious. "You and all the children like you."

Not liking how close the monster wearing their father's body got to his little brother Dean decided to switch his attention to himself. "Listen… you mind just getting this over with? 'Cause I really can't stand the monologuing."

The demon swung back towards him, face twisting in annoyance. "Funny. But that's all part of you M.O., isn't it? Mask all that nasty pain. Mask the truth."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Dean challenged, though deep down he didn't want to hear it.

"You know, you fight and you fight, but the truth is… they don't need you. Not like you need them. Sam… he's clearly John's favorite. Even when they fight. It's more concern than he's ever shown you."

Dean bit down the hurt those words caused, like he always did. Instead he forced himself to fight back the only way he could. "I bet you're real proud of your kids too, huh? Oh, wait, I forgot. I wasted 'em."

For a moment the demon bowed his head, eyes away from the older son. Then his head snapped up, yellow eyes glowing fiercely. Dean scream as blood surged from his chest, sheer agony burning through his veins.

"DEAN! NO!" Sam struggled harder against the demon's power.

"Dad!" Dean pleaded, trying to reach his father. "Dad, don't you let him kill me!" Another yell broke from his throat, as the pain seemed to intensify.

"Dean!"

SLAM

The door crashing into the wall broke the demon's concentration. Dean sagged heavily as the pain faded, panting breaths reverberating through the small room. Sam stared in disbelief and shock at the figure standing in the doorway.

"You know I'm hurt. I figured I would at least be invited to the family reunion." Xander quipped as he took in the scene. His two older brothers were held against the wall, obviously with demonic power. Dean didn't look too good either. His father stood in the middle of the room, clearly possessed from the yellow eyes staring at him in confusion. "Oh I'm sorry. Did I interrupt your evil plot? I'm told I have an uncanny knack for such things." He smiled goofily, using his 'harmless' persona to throw the bad guy off.

The demon frowned. "Who are you?"

"Name's Xander. Well Alexander, but I don't go by that unless I'm in a lot of trouble." He babbled away. "Of course I have earned a few other names, but I don't happen to like them and I highly doubt you'd have heard of them, 'cause this is the first time I've been out of my home town. Though I gotta say, bad guys everywhere seem to have the same penchant for hideouts. You know, dark, run down, dreary."

The demon gave a long blink at the onslaught of words. In the back of John's mind a flash of information alerted the demon to the boy's real identity. He started to laugh, slow at first then getting louder.

"Oh, this is fantastic! John has a bastard child! All these years he's hunted me to avenge the love of his life and he goes and has a kid on a tryst!" He straightened up. "Do you even know how ashamed he is of your existence?"

To everyone's surprise Xander shrugged off the words like they meant nothing. Which to him they did, he'd had plenty of others tell him the same. "Story of my life. Though not sure why it bothers him, it's not his name I go by."

Even the demon felt the sharp twinge of pain that statement brought to his host. Huh, it appeared John cared more than he let on. "Well as fun as this is, I don't have time to deal with you. Though it is cute you thought you could actually save your family." Concentrating his power he shoved it towards the new arrival to pin him to the walls as well so he could continue his fun. Only the power did little more than wash over the child in front of him. "What…"

Sam and Dean watched on in confusion, not sure why their kid brother had even shown up or how he knew where to come. Both struggled against their bindings when the demon tried to attack the kid only to share in his shock when nothing happened.

"Yeah. Apparently you're kind of mojo doesn't work on me. Sorry." Xander shrugged, though his tone offered no real apology. "Anyways, I've been sent here by the higher ups. They decided they didn't like your little world domination plans and have chosen to get rid of you now instead of later. I guess they just don't want to deal with the clean up. Who knows with them? They're rather fickle in my experience."

"You can't hope to beat me boy!" The demon snarled.

"That's where you're wrong Azazel." Ignoring the wide eyed look from his possessed father he pulled out the orb Whistler had given him and started chanting in Latin.

"NO!" The demon screamed in shock as he recognized the vessel. It would trap him then destroy him completely. He fought hard to stay within John Winchester's body, but the magic of the vessel glowed brightly and negated his own power. It certainly didn't help that John fought his control.

Dean and Sam watched in amazement as the orb in Alex's hands lit up the power shooting towards their father. The demon screamed and fought but could not win. The light pulled out the dark essence of the creature from their father and drew it into the orb. With a deafening swoosh the last remaining bits of the demon surged into the small orb Alex held, the demon's final cry of defiance echoing in the air.

"Phenomenal cosmic power. Itty bitty living space." Xander grinned boyishly as he examined the device. Looking up he found his father blinking familiar brown eyes at him while his brothers leaned against the walls, free of the demon's hold. "Sorry. Always wanted to say that."

"Alex?" John stared at his youngest son, not quite comprehending that he stood there holding the orb that had captured the demon he had sought for nearly twenty-two years.

"As I've stated many times I prefer Xander." The teen advised quietly then nodded towards Dean. "However I do believe Dean needs medical attention."

That had Sam and John both turning towards the other young man, taking in the blood and his crumpled form.

"Dean!" Both descended onto the man's prone form trying to stop the blood and take care of him. Sam took off his outer shirt pressing it against the wound to stem the flow of blood. John went about checking his child's pulse and other vitals.

"He's going into shock. Let's get him in the car Sam." John ordered, falling easily into the leadership role. Sam nodded and started to help lift his brother.

Xander held the door open for them, planning on beating a hasty retreat once they got Dean settled in the car. It wasn't like they needed his help anymore and he needed to find someplace safe if what Whistler told him would happen came to pass soon. He was not looking forward to it in the least.

John helped Sam maneuver Dean into the back of the Impala, leaning him into the seat carefully. When he looked up he noticed Alex trying to slink away into the night. Like he would allow that to happen. He had questions and his youngest would give him the answers.

"Freeze Alexander." He used the stern tone that always had his sons obeying him. Sure enough the boy froze in place, glancing over his shoulder at him. "In the car. Now." He barked when the first order was not complied with.

Xander considered his options but seeing the look on his father's face he knew if he did leave it'd only give him a slight reprieve until the man tracked him down. Then he'd be really angry. With a resigned sigh he moved to the other side of the vehicle and slid into the back seat next to Dean, helping to prop his brother up. John took the driver's seat while Sam sat in front of Xander. Silence filled the vehicle as they drove off towards the nearest hospital.

Xander fidgeted nervously as his father spoke with the nurse. Sam sat beside him, his attention split between him and their father. He knew both of them wanted to demand answers, but at the same time their worry for Dean kept them slightly in line. As soon as they found out Dean was in the clear though, all bets were off.

John thanked the nurse for her time and walked over to Sam and Alex. Both looked at him anxiously, though he suspected different reasons for such in his youngest.

"Dean is fine. They moved him to a room for observation." Sam let out the breath he was holding while Xander smiled happily. "He lost a fair amount of blood, and had some internal bruising but it'll heal and he should be able to leave with us tomorrow morning. The nurse said we can go see him now."

Sam climbed to his feet, relieved that Dean would come out of this ok. Xander followed a bit slower. John led them down to Dean's room, ushering both boys in before following and closing the door behind him. Sam immediately took up vigil by Dean's side, one hand grasping his.

"Hey Sammy." Dean managed his voice gruff from the drugs.

"Hey Dean." Sam grinned down at him. "You look like shit."

"Shut up." Dean huffed at him. Then his green eyes turned towards his father, scanning him carefully. "Dad."

"Son. You had me worried there." John grinned at his oldest trying hard to convey how proud he was of him. He knew the demon's words had struck a cord in his child, but he didn't quite know how to fix it. Dean wasn't exactly known for sharing feelings. Neither was he for that matter. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. Alive." Dean nodded, pleased the man before him was indeed his father. Then his gaze locked on his youngest brother, the one they had not grown up with, the one who supposedly had a normal life. "So I guess I wasn't imagining things back there. How ya been Lexxy?"

Xander rolled his eyes at the annoying nickname but decided to let it slide this time. "Pretty good considering it wasn't me the demon was tossing around."

"What did you do anyway?" Sam looked at his kid brother, the one he had often envied for having a normal life, sometimes to the point of hating him.

Xander considered playing dumb for all of five seconds, however the looks he got from his family told him he'd better cough up the truth fast. "I used an ancient Capturing Orb given to me by the upper management to capture Azazel, the demon possessing dad. It basically absorbs all of the demon's power until there's nothing left."

"So the demon's in there and it can't get out?" John clarified. "And the orb will kill it?"

"Yeah." Xander gave him a look that stated 'I said that'.

"Who's the upper management? Do you mean God? Did he give you the orb? Is that why the demon's power didn't work on you?" Sam blasted him with questions. Suddenly he understood what Giles felt like on occasion and resolved to call and apologize to the watcher.

"Uh…not exactly. No, God didn't give it to me, but beings more powerful than Azazel did. Some are the good guys, but some aren't." He frowned trying to figure out how to explain this, but it was hard since he didn't fully understand it himself.

"Alex!" John's bark of frustration had the teen jumping back, taking on a defensive stance.

Dean and Sam shared a startled look at the sudden move. More than that they saw the slight fear in Alex's eyes, like he expected an attack. John himself backed up visibly at his child's reaction. He knew better than his sons that Alex had moved with ingrained instinct, not simply from being startled. What had happened in his youngest son's life to cause such a reaction, such fear? Because the kid sure as hell didn't show it when facing down the demon.

"Chill Winchester." A new voice startled all of them. In the corner a man materialized, his suit a glaring purple to go with his black bowler hat. "The kid was just doing what was asked. Harris."

"Whistler." Xander nodded back somewhat resigned. He then handed the orb over to the Balance Demon. "Sorry, didn't have time to gift wrap."

Whistler snickered. "No problem kid. Thanks for handling the problem for us. By the way the contract's been revoked."

"Contract?"

"You didn't think they'd make assurances that you didn't go back?" He gave the kid a look. "As long as you don't get twenty miles within Sunnydale's limits you're good."

"I said I wouldn't." Xander pouted somewhat petulantly. "I understand giving up one's wants for the good of others."

"I know kid."

"Excuse me. What is going on?" John asked trying to wrap his mind around all of this. "And who or what are you?"

"Name's Whistler and I'm a Balance Demon." He threw his hands up when John and Sam both reached for weapons. "Whoa calm down. I work for the good guys." Xander snorted earning a look from the demon. "I'm not talking about just the powers kid. There are higher-level beings watching over ya too. Unlike the Powers they appreciate what you've done to save the world."

All three older Winchesters looked between the two.

"Excuse me, did you just say 'save the world'?" Sam clarified.

"Yeah. Xander here has been an integral part in saving the world five outta the six times it's been in danger of ending these past three years." He smirked at the flummoxed looks sent his way. "He's been fighting against demonic vampires and non-biblical demons since beginning of his sophomore year in high school. Things you boys haven't seen or run into, mainly due to the fact he lives on a Hellmouth and most demons flock to those places."

He turned towards Xander. "See here's how it goes. Azazel picked Sam here to be one of his kids. He was six months old at the time. During his visit their mom walked in and Azazel killed her. John managed to save the boys but not his wife. He learned from another source about demons and all sorts of evil. Ever since then he's been on the road hunting evil things and mainly looking for Azazel." Whistler took on a lecturing tone. "He's what's known as a hunter. There are a lot of them in the world. Most though don't go anywhere near Sunnydale or other main hotspots of activity. They usually just deal with ghosts, spirits and the occasional biblical demons. That's what Azazel is. Granted he's high up in their little latter of evil. Those types of demons have to possess a human host to walk the earth, and they're the ones the bible generally refers to, not the ones you see in Sunnydale all the time."

He then addressed the other men. "Xander started fighting at fourteen when his best friend got taken and turned by the demonic vampires. They're different than the ones you boys faced. Mainly in the fact that they can be killed in the typical fashion of a stake, sunlight, holy water or taking their head off. The kind you deal with have more of their humanity as they were never fully killed to be turned, thus makes them harder to kill." He figured it'd be easier to simply explain and cut off any questions, especially given Sam's penchant for curiosity. "Now during this time he fought with the Power's main fighter, the Slayer. One girl in all the world empowered with the strength and abilities to fight the vampires and the demons. They're almost always placed on top of an active Hellmouth, and the same goes for this one." Holding up one hand he stopped their questions again. "The kid can explain Hellmouths in detail later, and yes I know you boys think those are myths but they're not. Now moving on." He took a breath. "While Xander's been there he's done good for the world, helped save many lives and even allowed the slayer to live longer than the usual year, granted he also split the slayer line but again he can explain that. It all comes to head at his graduation. The mayor of Sunnydale just so happened to be a 140 year-old sorcerer who decided to ascend into a full blood higher demon; basically his power would make Azazel look weak. You're son helped plan the battle that stopped him, as well as made the bomb that blew up the school around said demon killing him in the process."

"You blew up you're high school?" Dean looked to his youngest brother with awe, while Sam looked disappointed. John kept his face blank as he tried to take in the information. He figured he could freak out later.

"We didn't have a volcano." Xander defended weakly. He was so getting in trouble for this.

"Wait… you graduated from high school?" John frowned. "But you're only sixteen, you should be a junior…"

"Mom decided she didn't want to deal with a kid all day and enrolled me at four going on five. No one bothered to argue." He shrugged.

"Anyway." Whistler got them back on track. "The school went boom, the demon died and the world was saved. On top of it all the seers for all three sides went nuts."

"All three sides?" Sam frowned.

"Yeah, the good, the bad and the neutral."

"Sounds like a bad western." Dean snorted.

"In any case all the seers started screaming about the end of everything, and I mean everything, in this universe if Xander stayed in Sunnydale. Took a good week to sort everything out, then the negotiations on what to do with the kid started."

"Negotiations? For what?" John didn't think he liked where this was going.

"Not everyone likes me dad." Xander explained dryly. "In fact I'm quite sure the Powers wanted me dead."

"Wait… aren't those the good guys?"

"No comment."

"Truth is the Powers don't like the kid 'cause he's a wild card. He messes up all their plans and then some. This in turn has caused a lot of the bad guys and the neutrals to love the kid." Whistler chuckled a bit.

"Why would the bad guys like him?" Dean choked.

"Simple. Bad guys don't want other bad guys to end the world or complete plans before they have a chance to do so. Since I keep messing everything up and stopping other bad guys, the bad guys still alive like that. I also tend to piss off the 'good' guys, always a plus in their book." Xander shrugged. "The neutrals just like the fact I keep the world spinning 'cause I'm an 'any means necessary' kind of guy."

The older Winchesters just stared at him, as if they had never seen the real Xander.

"Needless to say the bad guys and the neutrals stated if the Powers killed the kid it'd be open war." Whistler continued. "There are also a few higher good guys that aren't too happy with the Powers and they like your boy a lot, so they added their weight to the ultimatum."

"So what happens if he does go back to Sunnydale?" Sam queried still trying to wrap his head around the whole thing. This was weird even for them.

"No one is too sure. They just know that if the kid is on the Hellmouth, something's going to happen either to him or a him in another dimension that will wipe out all life in this dimension, down to the very last atom molecule."

"Right, so we don't go anywhere near Sunnydale." Dean nodded affirmatively. Xander shot him a look, surprised he acted like Xander would be with them from now on.

"Actually kid you're safer with your family." Whistler cut in, reading his facial features right. "They can train you where the watcher didn't and you can help with research. The higher ups decided it'd be good for you to have a real family, not to mention you're still radiating power. It'll attract demons to you like girls to chocolate."

Xander groaned at the thought of more demons coming after him. It was bad enough back home, who knows what he'd draw out here.

"Radiating?" John asked, sending worried looks at his youngest.

"Yeah, you were in Sunnydale when Xander was conceived. He was born and raised there, plus he's spent the last three years nearly directly over top the Hellmouth. There have been maybe ten Hellmouth born children in the last hundred years, and only one has outlived Xander and she was turned at twenty three." He explained. "Not to mention he's a natural medium."

"I am?"

"How else do you think you kept the memories and abilities from those possessions so easily? Not to mention being able to see spirits others can't, not even the slayer."

Sighing heavily he leaned against the wall. It figured this would happen to him. "And when is that thing you mentioned going to happen?"

"Soon. We're holding it off until they can get ya to Singer's place. He's got a Devil's Trap."

"Why would we need to put Alex in a Devil's Trap." John's tone indicated he really didn't want to know, but he had to.

"Not only does he need to drain some of the taint from the Hellmouth but there's a lot of spells on your boy here." The demon shifted slightly. "See one of his friends is a Wicca, but she's put some loyalty and binding spells on the kid plus a few others we don't know a lot about. There are also some spells from when he was a kid. You probably should have checked Jessica and Tony out a bit more before leaving him there." He glowered at John, causing the other man to falter a little.

"What did they do to him?" John's voice had taken on a quieter quality his older sons knew to be very dangerous.

"Where to start?"

"Hey!" Xander interrupted. "That's not something I want talked about. And quite frankly it's no one's business, so drop it."

He met his father's glare, clear warning in his eyes that he would not allow this line of questioning to continue. Dean and Sam both had to hold in their own anger at the thought of what their kid brother hid from them, and for how long.

Sensing the tension Whistler decided now would be a good time to high tail it out of there. "Anyway, once you get to Singer's the spells will start to unravel. It won't be pleasant but you'll know when it's over with. Take care kid."

None of the men acknowledged the demon's departure, the silent battle of wills still ongoing.

"Tell me what they did Alex." John ordered.

"Doesn't matter, you can't change the past." He shot back, voice just as serious. "And I don't want to talk about it."

"Alexander."

"No. You don't get to play the father card with me. Not for this." He snapped. "You may have visited at times, you may have called and even sent cards, but you didn't raise me. And the one time I did ask for help, you were too busy. So no, I'm not talking about this with you or anyone else." With quick decisive movements he stalked out of the room to get some air.

John made to follow but Sam stopped him. "I'll go keep an eye on him dad, you both need to calm down."

While he wanted to refute he knew Sam was right. If he pushed Alex now it'd only lead to a fight. As his middle son left the room he sank into a chair sitting next to the bed.

"Don't worry dad, we'll get it out of him eventually." Dean assured him. "After all there's no way he's leaving us for at least a year and a half since he's a minor."

John gazed at his oldest a small chuckle bubbling up as the tension broke. "Yeah. You always did know just what to say Dean. Don't know what I'd do without you." He patted his son's hand, eyes full of pride and love that had Dean blushing slightly.

"I imagine one hell of a fight with those two and homicide of some sort." Dean snarked.

Laughing John nodded. "Probably. You get some rest, and no flirting with the nurses."

He watched as Dean slumped down into the sheets, letting the pain medication work. The demon that had haunted his family for 22 years was dead. He had all of his sons with him alive and mostly well. Suddenly the future didn't look too bad.

Once the hospital released Dean the four men piled back into the Impala heading towards Bobby's place. Xander had refused to answer any questions about his 'family' in Sunnydale and remained rather vague on the details of his hunts. John felt ready to strangle the kid, and from the looks of it Dean would help. Thankfully Sam understood and kept the peace between the group, a first for him.

Pulling into Singer Salvage yard was an experience for Xander. He'd never seen so many different cars in different states of repair or more accurately disrepair. The house itself looked like a modest two-story farmhouse, perfect for a small family or one person living alone.

As they all disembarked the vehicle an older man, still in decent shape, came onto the front porch, shot gun ready.

"I see you boys found your dad." He nodded towards John, his eyes then going to the teen. "You pick up a stray?"

"This is Alex." John answered for them. "My youngest son."

"You never told me you had a third boy." Bobby frowned.

John shrugged. "Never came up."

Xander bit the inside of his lip to keep from commenting. Instead he managed a smile and nod to the older man, figuring that acting polite to the one with the gun made sense. "Sir."

"It's Bobby, none of that sir stuff." He set the shotgun down. "You wouldn't happen to go by Xander would you?"

"Um, yes actually." He frowned in confusion. "Why?"

"Some guy dropped off your car, saying you'd be by, but not when. Something about needing my Devil's Trap?" He gave him a suspicious glance.

"Bad suit? Bowler hat? Bronx accent?" All questions received a nod. "Then yup, that's my stuff. And the Devil's Trap is supposed to protect me and others, while a bunch of spells on me break. Fair warning I'm told it's going to be painful so I might scream a bit."

Bobby blinked at the matter-of-fact tone the kid stated that in. Suddenly he could see the family resemblance. Shaking his head he turned to the other three.

"You three alright? Anyone need medical attention?"

"We're good. Dean needs rest though." John helped his oldest towards the front steps though he tried to swat him off.

"Well come on in then." Bobby opened the door. He noticed that while the other two helped Dean inside, Alex had gone to the car and popped the trunk rummaging around. Apparently he found what he wanted as he soon joined them inside.

Stopping the group inside the main area Bobby handed them all shot glasses filled with holy water. "Bottoms up."

Dean and Sam rolled their eyes but did as asked, followed quickly by John. Xander studied the water for a moment, sniffing it then shrugging and finishing it in one gulp. When no one reacted the older hunter relaxed visibly.

"Alright, how do ya want to do this? Get Dean settled then throw the kid in the trap or go straight for the trap?" Bobby asked dryly.

"Probably best to stick me in there now." Xander advised moving towards the room containing the seal. He visually traced the lines, admiration for the precision clear in his eyes. He slid off his jacket and paused at removing his shoes. "Do you mind if…"

"Go ahead, might as well be comfortable."

"Thanks." Xander grinned as he slid off his shoes and cracked his toes. He pulled out a small leather bound journal from the pocket of his coat holding it out to his father in resignation. "Here."

"What is this?" John frowned, taking the book carefully.

"You wanted to know about my hunting life. It's all there. I figured it'll be easier for you to read about it since I'm not in the mood to discuss." Xander replied stoically. Taking a deep breath he approached the room holding the Devil's Trap, already he could feel the magic of the seals working. "You have one in the floor too?"

"How'd you know that?" Bobby checked, noting the carpet still covered all of the lines.

"I can feel it. Magic and me…not exactly mixy."

"Maybe we should try something else?" Sam suggested, not too keen on allowing his kid brother to be hurt.

"No, this is the safest." Xander pushed along the edges of the force field, ignoring the startled gasps from the others as the power became visible to their eyes. "Here goes nothing." Gathering his courage he took the last step into the Trap, the field closing shut behind him. For a long moment nothing happened and he almost let out a relieved sigh.

"Whoa." Dean's soft murmur caught his attention. Turning to the group he found them staring at him in wonder and slight fear.

Looking at himself he saw why. A green glow started to emit from his skin, growing brighter and brighter. It seemed to rise out of his body like smoke. Following the wisps of power he saw the seal above him glow as it absorbed the magic. His curiosity ended with the first stab of blinding pain. It ripped through his form and sent him to his knees, his breath stolen from him by the intensity.

"Lexxy." Dean tried to move forward along with Sam but the barrier refused them admittance. "Bobby, what the hell?"

"I don't know. Never seen it do that before." The older hunter frowned. Walking to one of the many stacks of books he pulled out the volume on Devil Traps and other seals hoping to find the answer.

"It'll be ok Alex. We're with you." Sam encouraged, wincing in sympathy as another bout of pain crippled the young teen.

John flinched as more spells ripped from his son's body, this time tearing a cry from the boy. He wanted so bad to hold him through this, or at the very least kill whatever put these things on his child. All this time he thought leaving Alex with his mother would protect him from the true evils of this world. Only the truth was, he left him alone and vulnerable and untrained.

The demon's words to his children came back to him. He did tend to favor Sam, but that didn't mean he didn't love Dean any less. Dean had his full trust, he was his second, his strongest soldier. Sam had too much of himself in him, one of the many reasons they fought so much. The boy didn't see that he needed protection and as his father he only did the things he thought would help. As for Alex, yes he had been ashamed. But he'd only been ashamed of his actions, not of the child resulting from them. The boy had been a welcome reprieve from the darkness, a sort of redemption for the way he had raised his two older boys.

But obviously his sons didn't understand his true feelings. If they had the demon's words wouldn't have hurt them like they did. If they had been secure in their importance to him, they would not bear the emotional wounds he helped inflict. And for the life of him, he didn't know how to fix it.

Dean clenched his jaw as he watched Alex writhe in pain, spells seeping off of him like oil. The colors changed with each new spell coming off him, and every new spell made him want to march down to Sunnydale and kick ass.

True he didn't know Alex like he knew Sam; he had not gotten to grow up with the kid. But he was the oldest, and it was his job to make sure his younger siblings were taken care of and protected. Each time he failed felt like a black mark against his soul. Logically he knew he didn't have the same responsibility for Alex like he did Sam, as Alex had his mom. It had been a small comfort and often allowed him to put the kid out of his mind. When he first learned of his existence Dean hadn't wanted to care about the boy at all. He was a mistake his father made, a blatant reminder that his father moved on from his mother. Now he could understand such needs, but at ten years old he had felt betrayed by his dad.

However the first time he'd met the kid, he'd been a toddler with his big brown eyes staring up at him full of trust and awe and Dean had been lost, just like when Sammy looked at him like that. He vowed to take care of him the best he could, even if he couldn't be there in person. In retrospect Alex had helped him more in the long run. The conversations they had on the phone always lifted his spirits, the kid could put just about anything into perspective, and having someone to talk to about the little things helped relieve his stress so much. Now to learn that the kid had needed them all and they hadn't been there struck a cord deep in his psyche.

He quietly vowed that he'd look after Alex from now on, and this time the kid would be with them and not miles away.

Sam cringed as spasms rocked through Alex's body. How the kid could go so long without screaming more than he did when in obvious pain was beyond Sam. It did make him think perhaps he had suffered more at the hands of his mother and stepfather than a few hits and normal teen angst issues. It was funny how he now found himself grateful that he hadn't been in Alex's shoes when as a kid he had wanted to trade places so many times.

Then to find out on top of it he had hunted. Without the rigorous training their father had put them through. How the kid had survived this long had to rank among the top mysteries of the world. This time around he would take a leaf out of Dean's book and protect his younger brother. He'd show him that family did mean something and would take care of him.

Xander could taste blood where he bit his lip hard from trying not to scream. He didn't know what exactly Willow had done to him or who else, but the detox sucked! For a moment he was worried the remnants of the Hyena and soldier would also be taken, but they had stayed firmly in the back of his mind. While he might not enjoy the memories that came with the pair, their abilities and knowledge had proven too useful to discard.

Regardless he hurt from the tips of his hair down into the deepest joints of his body. He wondered how much of it came from his earlier years and his 'loving' parents. On the bright side he did feel some of the Hellmouth taint leaving him though something told him he had too much to ever get fully clean.

Around him the Devil's Trap flared brightly as it pulled one last spell from him then went dead shields dropping. Exhausted he focused solely on breathing in and out, his body too sore to try any movement. A groan broke through his cracked and bleeding lips when a set of hands carefully turned him on his side. He slit one eye open finding his father kneeling next to him a worried look on his face.

"Breath Alex." He coaxed softly. "Think you can move?"

From the tightness in his throat he didn't think he could answer, so he gave a minimal shake of his head though even that hurt.

"Ok. How about we get you a pillow and a blanket and let you lay here for a while. Would that be ok?" John asked, not quite sure how to take care of this. The nod he received was quick and short. "Ok, then, you try to rest."

Sam handed him the pillow he had grabbed from a side couch then ran upstairs to get a blanket. Dean helped his dad position Alex to a more comfortable location, adding a few extra pillows he had filched from the couch as well. It didn't take long for Sam to return with a large old comforter from one of the guest rooms, promptly covering the young teen and tucking the edges in around him.

Too tired to protest Xander let them fuss, his eyes closing as sleep pulled him under. He didn't feel Dean lying next to him, curling up with his own pillow and blanket.

John, Bobby and Sam slipped out of the room heading to the kitchen leaving the two to sleep.

Night had firmly settled in by the time Dean awoke from his nap. Stretching out the aches he checked on Alex finding the kid still out. Carefully he rolled out of the blankets and headed towards the kitchen in search of food and everyone else. Mainly he wanted food.

Sure enough he found Bobby and Sam at the kitchen table, the latter reading the small journal Alex had given their dad. Speaking of…

"Where's dad?"

"Out back." Bobby informed him, sipping on a mug of coffee. "He needed to work off some steam after reading the boy's journal."

Shooting him a look he turned to his other brother taking in the way his fingers curled around the leather binding, knuckles sometimes white from how hard he held it. "Sammy?"

"It's bad Dean." He managed to pull his eyes away from the book. "The things he had to deal with, on top of hunting nightly. I couldn't have done it, hell I don't think you or dad could have done it. And the way his 'friends' treated him half the time…"

Dean held up a hand to stall him. "You finish then let me look at it and then we can bitch together." He plopped down in a chair after grabbing one of the pre-made sandwiches the others had thoughtfully left in the fridge.

While he ate Sam went back to reading, occasionally making a face or muttering obscenities. Yeah, this would not go well.

When Sam had finally finished the book he barely managed to control himself to keep from throwing it in anger. He handed it to Dean before stalking out of the house to do his own anger management.

Dean eyed the book wearily. On the one hand it seemed like a major breach in privacy. On the other Alex had given it to them to read. Plus as the big brother it was his duty to snoop on his siblings, after all he'd read Sammy's 'diary' up until the brat went to college.

Pushing away his finished plate he settled in to read, thanking God that Alex had better handwriting than Sammy did. Sometimes it was worse than chicken scratch. He knew it wouldn't go well when the first words of the entire book were 'Jesse's dead'. Yeah, definitely not good.

By about ten pages into it he had to set it down and grab a beer before he could even think about reading the rest. The kid gave very thorough accounts and often wrote descriptions of the things they fought, including pictures, sort of like their dad's hunting journal. Sometimes he even had photos in there, which made it harder to discredit him.

Bobby watched quietly as Dean continued to read. Like his brother and father before him he got angrier and angrier with each new page. The boy couldn't be more than seventeen, so there's really only so much he could have gotten up to. But if John was right and the kid was on a Hellmouth, which apparently wasn't a myth, then there's no telling what had happened.

He did know that the teen was going to get a full dose of the Winchester overprotection detail times three. He certainly didn't want to see those fireworks if the boy had half the stubbornness of the rest of them.

Two hours had passed before Dean finally finished the book, though he had skimmed a lot. By then John had come back in, helping himself to a pretty good glass of whiskey. And almost like clockwork Dean stormed out of the house to work on his new anger issues.

"That bad?" He turned to John. Though he really wanted to read the book he wouldn't without their permission. After all this was a family matter.

"Worse." John stated softly, eyes full of guilt. Pushing the book over he gave a curt nod. "You might as well read it. It'll be easier to understand and I'm not sure I won't start yelling. At least now I know why he didn't want to talk about it."

Bobby eyed him for a moment before picking up the book. He managed to get at least twenty pages before he had to get himself a beer.

The more he read the more he wondered about the kid's sanity. He had to admit though, the kid had balls, more than most hunters he knew. He also had a keen mind and eye for the obvious, given his observations and comments on various events and information he had learned. Not to mention a pretty wicked sense of humor.

Some of the stories weren't that bad, even humorous. However he could clearly see why the others got so upset the more they read. The boy had willingly jumped into the front lines of a war. Sure hunters fought against the darkness, some even had vendettas against specific demons, but none faced it like this. Night after night, day after day fighting simply to survive. The place was a literal hell on earth. And no one had been there to back the kid up.

Oh he had his friends, but that was different from family. Real family that is. His mom and stepfather certainly couldn't fall into that category. No, the kid needed a tight family like the Winchesters at his back to support him during those rough patches with his friends and the nightmares he undoubtedly had when home.

The Winchesters didn't always get along, and sometimes even split up, but they always had each other's back. Even when Sammy went to college his family kept tabs on him to keep him safe. And had he needed them, they would have stepped up immediately.

Alex hadn't had that.

During his reading he heard the front door open at different intervals. He knew it was Sam and Dean though neither returned to the kitchen. He did hear them settle down in the other room with the kid though. Apparently they wanted to get a jumpstart on their protection detail.

As he finished the last page he calmly set the book on the table, taking a moment for everything to sink in. Tired eyes turned to John noting his slumped shoulders.

"Damn John."

"Yeah."

"You got your work cut out for you that's for sure." Bobby chuckled softly. "He may not look it but that boy is made of steel, and he definitely inherited your stubbornness."

John cracked a smile at that. "Stubbornness can be good sometimes."

He didn't remark on that. "So the demon you've been hunting is really gone?"

"Yeah." John blinked as if realizing the fact for the first time. "It's really gone."

"So what now?"

"I…I don't know. I've been hunting for so long…"

"Well I tell you one thing you better damn well do." Bobby leaned forward, voice down to keep it from drifting to the other room. "You'd better take this time to finally do right by your kids. You need to show them that you're not their drill sergeant but their father. Get to know them as one."

Having said his peace he headed on up to go to bed. Checking on the boys he found Dean and Sam curled around Alex, all three fast asleep.

John sat at the table for a long time. He knew Bobby was right. He had trained his two older sons like soldiers to help them survive the darkness, and he knew very little about his youngest as the journal clearly illustrated. His boys deserved a father or at the very least to know how proud he was of them and how much he loved them. Mary would probably kill him for what he'd put them through over the years.

Moving into the other room he settled into one of the arm chairs, eyes lovingly tracing the forms of his three boys. For the rest of the night he kept a silent vigil over them.


End file.
